Much to my surprise, Sana’a is not impregnated by a strong coffee culture, despite the famous Yemeni coffee. Most of the time I sipped, like all Yemenis, the deliciously spicy shay ahmar, and I will miss those nightly culinary feasts of the Ramadan… and now that I am back, my home roasting career is about to get an extra boost with what I bought: Jimma, Harar, Sidamo, Limu, Yergacheffe and Lekemte. Time to indulge!
I am soon to discover some of the specialities such as saltah of the Yemeni cuisine, and the numerous varieties of their bread. I’m only wondering whether there is any kind of quark, or curd cheese available in Yemen? And if that is the case, how is it called? Being much less carnivorous than the average person, I have developed a long lasting relationship with quark that is usually very rich in protein. Soon an entire (and holy) month without it might be avoided if I managed to get hold of some of this white stuff!
There are plenty of harira recipies out there but here’s one that I use, courtesy of M, who nowadays may be smoking ergileh as a dessert after each harira meal. This is one of my favorite dishes ever and I usually make it quite thick and leave the lamb meat out. Originally harira is a Moroccan dish and it is often served during the holy month of Ramadan to break the fast, or in other special occasions too. This year I’ll be in Sana during the Ramadan so I’ll possibly make a Yemenite version of the soup with whatever ingredients I’ll be able to find.
Here’s more or less what you need:
- 100g chickpeas and 100 g lentils
- 1 white onion, 10 tomatoes, celery (4 to 5 sticks) and one whole parsley
- 1 teaspoon turmeric and 1teaspoon (or more!) cinnamon
- coriander, pepper, fresh mint and fresh lemon juice, Garam Masala, (salt)
- 1 bouillon cube and ½ liter water
1. Stir the onion-cinnamon-celeri mix for a little while
2. Add parsley and turmeric and stir a little more (10 minutes or so)
3. Add the tomatoes and coriander and stir for five more minutes
4. Add bouillon and pepper (and salt if you like) and let everything simmer for about 1 hour
5. Some 10 minutes before serving add the chick peas (cooked) and lentils and half a lemon and some fresh mint. Voilà!
